Tag Archives: plant dyes

for 100 grams of fibre
20 grams Alkanet Root Rhubarb Dye Powder
Soak the Alkanet in a glass jar overnight with a bit of alcohol. This helps to release the dye pigment from the Alkanet. I leave the jar outside as the alcohol fumes can be overpowering and flammable.
The following day Put Alkanet Root into dye pot filled with water.
Let simmer in dyepot for +1 hour at 50 deg.
Add pre-mordanted wool yarn and sample fabrics.
Let simmer in dyepot for +1 hour.
Remove the wool yarn. Let this cool and rinse thoroughly to remove the excess dye powder.
Turn the heat off the dyepot and leave the linen and cotton samples to soak overnight. More colour will continue to develop as the dyebath cools.

Alkanet Dyed Linen Cotton

All cellulose fibres, yarns and fabrics must be scoured prior to mordanting or dyeing. Please see my previous article on how to do this.How to Scour Linen

For these samples, I used several different linen and cotton fabrics as well as wool yarn.Linen and Cotton Fabric Samples
Bleached Cotton
Unbleached Cotton
Bleached Linen
Linen/Cotton Blend
Natural Linen (light weight)
Natural Linen (heavy weight)

for 100 grams of fibre
20 grams Brazilwood powder – Caesalpinia Sappan
Put Brazilwood dye powder into dye pot.
Let simmer in dyepot for +1 hour at 50 deg.
Add pre-mordanted wool yarn and sample fabrics.
Let simmer in dyepot for +1 hour.
Remove the wool yarn. Let this cool and rinse thoroughly to remove the excess dye powder.
Turn the heat off the dyepot and leave the linen and cotton samples to soak overnight. More colour will continue to develop as the dyebath cools.

Brazilwood Dye on Linen and Cotton

All cellulose fibres, yarns and fabrics must be scoured prior to mordanting or dyeing. Please see my previous article on how to do this.How to Scour Linen

For these samples, I used several different linen and cotton fabrics as well as wool yarn.Linen and Cotton Fabric Samples
Unbleached Cotton
Bleached Linen
Linen/Cotton Blend
Natural Linen (light weight)
Natural Linen (heavy weight)

All cellulose fibres, yarns and fabrics must be scoured prior to mordanting or dyeing. Please see my previous article on how to do this.How to Scour Linen

For these samples, I used several different linen and cotton fabrics as well as wool yarn.Linen and Cotton Fabric Samples
Unbleached Cotton
Bleached Linen
Linen/Cotton Blend
Natural Linen (light weight)
Natural Linen (heavy weight)

3 litres water
25 grams alum
10 grams cream of Tartar
Bring to boil and then let cool
100 gram wool yarn tied in skeins
Rinse the clean washed yarn in cool water
Add the yarn into the cool mordant bath and bring it to 80-90 C degrees
Simmer for 1 hour
Remove and let cool

Fungi Dye Bath

If using dried mushrooms soak them in water for a few hours until soft.
300 grams dried mushrooms
5 litres water
Bring to boil and simmer for 2-3 hours

Let dyebath cool
Strain the liquid and store the cooked mushrooms. They can be used again in an afterbath
Add mordanted yarn to strained dyebath liquid

Add mordanted yarn to dyebath
Return to heat and simmer for 1 hour at 80-90 degrees Celsius or longer for stronger colour.
Remove from heat source and let cool
Rinse in water that is of similar temperature as dyebath to avoid shocking the yarn and causing felting to occur.

More Organic Dye Recipes

Medieval Dyes: Madder

Madder and Medieval Dyes
Samples were taken of various textiles from medieval sites dating from 12th to 15th century around London and subjected to dye analysis. Chromatography was used to identify the presence of alizarin and purpurin, the main components of madder. Some samples had been overdyed with blue to give blacks or yellow for brown or orange stripes.

Natural Dye Books

Eco Colour: Botanical Dyes for Beautiful Textiles
Using dyes of the leaves, roots, and flowers to color your cloth and yarn can be an amazing journey into botanical alchemy. In Eco Colour, artistic dyer and colorist India Flint teaches you how to cull and use this gentle and ecologically sustainable alternative to synthetic dyes.UK: Eco Colour